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Machinists Union and Pratt and Whitney Begin Contract Talks This Week

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ Jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney and the Machinists union are taking their continuing fight over jobs to the
bargaining table.The subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. and the union begin negotiations Tuesday for a contract to replace a three-year agreement expiring Dec. 5. To workers, holding on to vanishing well-paid manufacturing jobs will be their No. 1 issue.

James Parent, chief negotiator for the local International Association of Machinists, said he expects Pratt & Whitney to
demand authority in the contract to shut two engine repair plants in Connecticut. The union successfully sued the company earlier this year, blocking it from closing the plants and shipping 1,000 jobs to Georgia and Asia.
Pratt & Whitney would not comment on specific issues. The company said it will seek to make sure it remains competitive.